Alice's Drive
http://aliceramsey.org
Angels for Animals
http://www.angelsforanimals.net
Be An Angel Day, from Rumela's Web
http://www.rumela.com/events/events_august_beangel.htm
Benningham Museum
http://www.benningtonmuseum.com/grandma_moses_gallery.aspx
Georgetown Cupcakes
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/
House of Moét and Chandon
http://www.moet.com
IFAW
https://www.ifaw.org
Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/_browse1950.htm
International Cat Day
https://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/ifaw-marks-international-cat-day
International Friendship Day
http://www.friendship.com.au/friendday.html
International Society for Animal Rights
http://www.isaronline.org/campaign_NHAD.htm
ISHI: A Real-Life The Last Of The Mohicans
http://www.mohicanpress.com/mo08019.html
Left-Handers Day
http://www.lefthandersday.com/
Mata Hari
http://www.mata-hari.com/mata-hari-en.html
Milestones to Scouting
http://www.scoutingmilestones.freeserve.co.uk/brownsea.htm
National Dog Day
http://www.nationaldogday.com
National Night Out
http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno
National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/legacy/legacy.html
National Watermelon Promotion Board
http://www.watermelon.org
Navajo Code Talkers
http://www.teamroberts.org/kids/katie/codetalkers.pdf
Official Website for the US Navy
http://www.navy.mil
Switchback Gravity Railroad
http://www.switchbackgravityrr.org
The Official Ingrid Bergman Web Site
http://www.ingridbergman.com
Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site
http://www.tipton-haynes.org
Twins Days Festival Official Website
http://www.twinsdays.org
Ultimate Roller Coaster
http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com
United Nations
http://www.un.org/english
United Nations Cyberschoolbus
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/indigenous/index.asp
Virtual Jamestown
http://www.virtualjamestown.org
Voyager, The Interstellar Mission
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
Woodstock Museum, Bethel, NY
http://www.townofbethel.com/potpourri7.htm
Woodstock Preservation Alliance Archives
http://www.woodstockpreservation.org:81
Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance
http://www.forgivenessday.org
©Dwarf Designs 1998-2019
LAST UPDATED: 8/31/20
Beginning as the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar, Sextilis was a month with 29 days. Although it became the eighth month instead of the sixth following the additions of January and February around 700BC, it retained its name. Sextillis fluctuated in its number of days through both the Republican and the Julian calendar reforms, before two days to total 31 were added beginning 45 BC, and it was renamed for the Roman Emperor Augustus.
Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus in 63BC, he was later adopted by his great-uncle Julius Caesar, and claimed his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44BC. Through years of political intrigue, social espionage, and military struggles, he was responsible for uniting the provinces of the Roman community, governed by the Roman Senate, with himself first in charge.
For many years, radio was the only resource available for musicians to distribute their works, until the popularity of television shows beginning in the 1950's, like American Bandstand, Top of the Pops, Soul Train, Midnight Special, and many others brought the music to life as performed by the artists. The production of the first Beatles film A Hard Day's Night as a means of promoting the band and their music, all led the way to a change in how popular music was promoted during the late 1970's.
British Secret Service. A natural outdoorsman, B-P made his way through the military ranks with his ability to think independently, and by using his initiative to survive in the wilderness.
Remembering Francis Scott Key
who dealt the items commercially. The law also imposed severe penalties for violation, which could have resulted in a fine of up to $2000 and five years in prison. Initially an effort to make it too risky to deal the substance, during WWII, the Department of Agriculture was funded to make a film, Hemp for Victory (1942), encouraging farmers to grow hemp for use as a substitute for other raw materials. In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled this act unconstitutional as violating the Fifth Amendment, since a person seeking the tax stamp would have to incriminate him/herself. Consequently, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which repealed the act of 1937.
A crime and safety sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) was first introduced in 1984, and is now annually observed on the first Tuesday in August (always between the 4th and the 10th) between 7 and 10 in the evening. Originally created to heighten public awareness and strengthen participation in local anti-crime efforts, it has become an opportunity for neighbors to gather for festivities, including block parties, cookouts, parades, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies, and meetings to learn more about each other, and how they can fight neighborhood crime.
Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, it was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. The National Basketball League was a professional basketball league in the United States from 1937 to 1949, starting 13 previously independent teams was comprised primarily of teams in small Great Lakes towns and by corporate teams. The two leagues merged on this date in 1949 as the National Basketball Association (NBA), with 17 franchises. Today, the multi-billion dollar business of the NBA has reached 30 franchises, and is considered the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of notoriety, salaries, talent, and level of competition.
A 19th century explorer of Africa described watermelon as abundant in the Kalahari Desert, where it is believed to have originated. The earliest watermelon harvest of record occurred in dynastic Egypt nearly 5,000 years ago, and is depicted in hieroglyphs. It is believed African slaves helped introduce the watermelon to North America, and was recorded in Massachusetts as early as 1629. By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the US, eaten in a variety of ways, and is also often used to flavor summer drinks and smoothies. In the United States and South Africa, one may also find an alcoholic novelty known as a hard watermelon, or a watermelon that has been enhanced with an alcoholic beverage. Watermelon is 92 percent water by weight, the highest percentage of any fruit. It has no fat or cholesterol and is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, and C and contains fiber and potassium.
at the Abbey of Hautvillers, near the cathedral town of Reims in France, during the mid-17th century. Although his name is often associated with the invention of champagne, he did not invent sparkling wine, nor was he the first to make champagne. He did, however, work to improve the quality of the Abbey's product, and in marketing it as "the best wine in the world" found his product in great demand at the court of Versailles. Within no time at all champagne had established itself as "the wine of kings, and the king of wines." The House of Moët & Chandon (international distributor of prestige wines since 1743) developed the Cuvée Dom Pérignon in 1936. This was the first prestige champagne to appear on the market, whose worldwide fame remains unequalled.
Remembering Louis Armstrong
among the Top 500 Greatest Hits of All Time. This Mississippi country blues song is a composite story, told in first-person narrative by a member of a traditional American family sitting down for the evening dinner and begin discussion of a neighbor named Billie Joe, who that very day had thrown himself off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Not initially intended as Gentry's first single recording, the song originally contained six more verses than resulted after the final cut. Perhaps much was inadvertantly lost in the transition, because the mystery of the circumstances which led Billie Joe to his tragic demise became a wide-spread topic for pop culture of the time. Speculations circulated from references in the lyrics to a witness previously seeing the narrator with Billie Joe, throwing something of a questionable nature off the bridge. Another intrepretation appeared through a novel and screenplay in 1973 by Herman Raucher (Ode to Billy Joe), not only gives a date of death for Billy, but which also infers the narrator was not a female, and Billy Joe had offed himself following a homosexual encounter. Composer Gentry has often explained her creative purpose was to illustrate how casual conversation can so easily involve tragic topics. She has stated the song was not biographical, and also has commented she really didn't know what Billie Joe threw off that bridge. What happened to the missing six verses, and what they might explain, however, still remains a mystery.
The Tallahatchie Bridge, a railroad/highway bridge over the Tallahatchie River between Holly Springs and Oxford in Mississippi, was mentioned in the 1930 lyrics of Tallahatchie River Blues, by Mattie Delaney, referring to the impact of a flood. The brutal murder of an African-American youth named Emmett Till at a nearby cottin mill, was also mentioned in the lyrics of Freedom Highway, in 1965 by the Staple Singers. The Tallahatchie Bridge collapsed in June of 1972.
Beginnning in 1976 as part of the town's bicentennial celebration, the planners in Twinsburg, Ohio decided to set aside an annual time where emphasis would be placed on Twins and others of multiple birth. The largest annual gathering of its type in the world, Twins Days takes place on the first full weekend of August each year (always between the 1st and the 7th), and includes tournaments, a talent contest, a carnival, raffles, presentation of a scholarship, and a Royal Court. While open to all multiples (identical, fraternal, young and old, twins, triplets, quads) and their families, other folks are also welcome. The 2020 festival runs 7-9 August.
States in four of its six seasons, and was instrumental in the overall development of television production worldwide. During the early years of television, most shows were broadcast live from New York City, with a lesser-quality kinescope print made for broadcast in other time zones. Because of this, when negotiations began for I Love Lucy, CBS wanted Lucy and Desi to move to New York. Settled in California, beginning their own production studio, and expecting their first child, the couple wanted to remain in Los Angeles, and insisted on filming the show in Hollywood. The show's sponsor, Philip Morris, was neither willing to air kinescopes on the East Coast nor pay for the extra cost of filming. A deal was made that Ball and Arnaz would take less money to finance filming on the condition Desilu Productions would retain the rights to that film once the show had aired. Filming sitcoms for broadcast was not a new thing, having already been used for shows like Amos 'n' Andy, The Trouble with Father, and The Life of Riley. I Love Lucy was the first show to film in front of a studio audience, a combination which allowed for a sharper image, as well as authentic audience reactions. Although at the time, the concept of a rerun had not been developed, this unique deal made millions of dollars for Desilu through syndication. It not only proved the profits in reruns, it also helped influence the gradual move of television production from New York to California.
warheads within two minutes. The explosion was large enough to register on seismographs across Northern Europe.
international team of submarine escape and rescue experts establish procedures as the international standard, advise on training, and offer inspection and monitoring services. The primary medium for submarine rescue coordination is its web site, allowing a submarine in trouble to post its needs on the Internet for a rapid response in finding a system capable of its rescue, and coordinate a rescue effort in support of the country involved.
Remembering Mata Hari
Established in 2002 by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), this day celebrates the love of our cats, always insuring their vaccinations, identifications, physical safety and plenty of toys to keep them busy. The IFAW was founded in 1969 to provide assistance to animals in need, including the reduction of the demand and exploitation of wildlife, caring for orphaned animals in the wild, and supplying materials to help animals around the world survive natural disaster disasters around the world. World Cat Day is celebrated on February 17 in much of Europe and on March 1 in Russia.
President against John Kennedy in 1960. After losing the 1962 race for California Governor, he made one of his more lasting quotes, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." He became the 37th President in 1969.
suffer discrimination, extreme poverty and conflict; who face loss of their traditional lands and livelihoods, displacement, destruction of their belief systems, culture, language and way of life -- and even the threat of extinction. The first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1994-2004) was extended a second decade (2005-2015), and the establishment of a permanent forum by the Commission on Human Rights in 2000 continues the study on indigenous issues related to culture, economic and social development, education, the environment, health, and human rights. The second decade, "A Decade for Action and Dignity", encourages work as an international community to uphold their human rights and fundamental freedoms, while integrating them into the international development agenda relating to the environment and climate change, by allowing them partnership in action and dignity.
founder and president of the Women's Motoring Club of New Jersey who had been challenged by a representative of the Maxwell Briscoe Motor Company in New York to become the first woman to cross the nation in an automobile.
advance man, who traveled ahead by train to arrange publicity, located gasoline and service stations, plotted the route, and found food and lodging for the women. It was not uncommon crowds were waiting when they arrived.
honor of her adventurous spirit and contributions to the industry. In 1961, she wrote and published the story of her journey, Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron. In 2000, she became the first woman inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Between 1909 and 1975, Ramsey drove across the country more than 30 times, the last time at the age of 88. She never had a traffic accident, and she received only one traffic ticket, for making an illegal U-turn.
them was able to obtain financing for uniforms and equipment on the condition the team be named after its sponsor, giving the Green Bay Packers the oldest team-name still in use in the NFL. Lambeau became the team's first coach, and remained so until 1949. George Whitney Calhoun was a sports and telegraph editor for the Press-Gazette, and not only served as the team's first publicity director, but was also instrumental in gaining the involvement of his publisher, Andrew Turnbull, first president of the Green Bay Football Corporation, formed later to resolve economic issues to keep the franchise alive, and today makes the team the only publicly owned company with a board of directors in American professional sports. The Green Bay Packers, winners of 12 NFL league championships and three Super Bowls, have one of the largest fan bases (often referred to as cheeseheads) in the NFL, and consistently rank as one of the top teams in terms of popularity. The Packers home games at Lambeau Field have been sold out since 1960, and have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in professional sports, with a current wait time at approximately 35 years.
United States government in Canada, between 1912-1915, where he noticed that fish that are very quickly frozen will appear fresh upon thawing. His initial attempts experimenting to freeze fish fillets via chilled air were foiled due to lack of consumer interest in the product. He then developed a new process for commercially viable quick-freezing, resulting in his invention, known as the double belt freezer, in which cold brine chilled a pair of stainless steel belts carrying packaged fish so the fish froze extremely quickly. In 1927 he began to extend the process to quick-freezing of meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetables. His invention subsequently received its US Patent on this day in 1930, and marked the beginning of the modern frozen food industry. In 1929 Birdseye sold his company and patents to Goldman Sachs and the Postum Company, which eventually became General Foods Corporation, and which founded the Birds Eye Frosted Food Company.
Born on this day in 1899, Leytonstone, London, Alfred Hitchcock was a British director and producer, a master of the suspense thriller genre. He directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of talkies, to the colour era. Hitchcock was among the most consistently successful and publicly recognizable directors in the world during his lifetime, and remains one of the best known and most popular directors of all time, famous for his expert and largely unrivaled control of pace and suspense throughout his movies. Through his fame, public persona, high degree of creative control and frequent return to favored themes, Hitchcock helped to transform the role of the director, which had previously been eclipsed by that of the producer. He is seen today as a director who managed to combine art and entertainment in a way very few have ever matched. His innovations and vision have influenced a great number of filmmakers, producers, and actors.
On 13 August 1976, an organization called LI launched International Left-Handers Day as an annual event. This day was chosen because it was Friday the 13th, and a way to poke fun at the superstitions that have surrounded left-handed people for years. Celebrations often include left-v-right sports matches, a left-handed tea party, pubs using left-handed corkscrews, playing games with the left hand only, and asking right-handers to try using everyday left-handed objects. Recognized by the United Nations, this event is now celebrated worldwide to increase public awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed in a right-handed world.
The first code talkers to see action were with the 7th Marine Regiment, which arrived on Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942. They set up their equipment and began translating messages the next day. However, when they began using the code, Marines across the island began calling to ask if the Japanese had broken into the American radio frequency. Navajo and Japanese sound so similar that the Marines had mistaken the code for Japanese. This problem was solved by having the code talkers say "Arizona" or "New Mexico" before they began the transmission, alerting the Marines that a message was about to be sent in Navajo code.
People abandoned their cars and walked for miles to the concert area. The weekend was rainy, facilities were overcrowded, and attendees shared food, alcoholic beverages, and drugs. Despite its problems of crime and basic misbehavior, limited facilities and first aid tents, the festival has been idealized from its sense of social harmony, the quality of music, and the overwhelming mass of people. Althought the festival did not initially make money for the promoters, subsequent record sales and proceeds from the highly regarded film of the event did eventually become profitable. Namesake events have been held every decade since then, with an extra one in 1994 celebrating its 25th anniversary. In 1997, the site of the concert and 1,400 surrounding acres were purchased by cable millionaire, Alan Gerry, and have become the Bethel Center for the Arts, which opened on July 1, 2006 with the New York Philharmonic playing.
The first American roller coaster was not built for amusement, but by the raiway for hauling coal from the Pennsylvania mountains. The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, which was more like a runaway train than a modern coaster, is considered the forefather of today's Roller Coaster. As coal-hauling operations began to decline, the railroad adapted to a purely tourist operation. This successful project carried over 35,000 passengers per-year, and became a large Nineteenth Century tourist attraction. Because of its popularity, special excursion trains from New York and New Jersey were created to help bring people to America's first "roller coaster." Although it was not able to survive the Great Depression, it did leave its mark on the future of amusement park entertainment.
bricklayer who lived in East Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. His sister lived in West Berlin. Although the Wall began construction in 1961, it was not until June 1962 work began on a second parallel wall, leaving a 100-yard strip between the two, paved with gravel, booby-trapped with tripwires, and offered no cover from the guards with orders "border violators should be destroyed and all attempts to breach the defenses should be prevented." It came to be known as the death-strip.
German border guards. After another hour, one border guard entered the death-strip to retrieve the young man's dead body.
Remembering Mae West
England. In 1584, he sent an expedition to scout for an appropriate location. His half-brother, an artist named John White, accompanied the first expedition, commissioned to make drawings of the landscape and natives they encountered, and map the area as far north as the Chesapeake Bay. After reaching the Outer Banks of North Carolina and finding the natives friendly, they sailed through a narrow inlet and went ashore on a small island they named "Roanoke", a location chosen because its sand banks offered security from Spanish ships.
returned to England. After two more years, he was able to find a captain willing to allow him, with a new group of colonists and a supply ship, join his expedition through the Carribbean, but those plans changed at the last minute, and only White was allowed to go as a passenger, and without his supplies.
he was lured to interest in the English efforts to settle the New World. Though his name does not appear in the ship documents, there is strong evidence he was associated with the voyage of Martin Frobisher's search for the Northwest Passage in 1577, identified through a stylized pen and watercolor drawing of a fight between Eskimos and Englishmen at South Baffin Island. Original drawings by White of this fight, of a woman and her baby, and two drawings of an Eskimo man, were included in his later set of drawings of the natives of Virginia.
White was able to continue his task to capture the surrounding landscape and native peoples through a series watercolor drawings. He returned to England with survivors a year later. Unusual at the time because most artists used oils for painting, White's watercolors became a sensation in Europe, and encouraged interest in the New World as much as the first return of curious products, including maize, potatoes, and tobacco.
It was a hot summer day in Dayton, Ohio when a newspaper photographer named Myron "Scottie" Scott watched three boys racing down a street in homemade, engineless cars, and told them to return the following week with their friends to participate in a race. The day came with nineteen boys eagerly ready to race. It proved to be such an entertaining event, Scott worked towards organizing a bigger event, and found a sponsor in his employer at the Daily News. The big event was held on this day in 1933. Over 300 racers entered, riding in an assortment of homemade vehicles made from crates, sheet tin, or wagons, with an estimated 40,000 spectators surrounding the hill. The idea of an annual derby gained national attention, and drew major sponsors from automotive and tire manufacturers. A national 
committee developed rules for construction and competition, and by 1936, Derby Downs was built in Akron, Ohio. Over the past 75 years, the race has become an annual international event held in July, for youth ages 8 to 17, to compete for scholarships and merchandise prizes. Entrants are responsible for building their own vehicles from kits purchased by the All-American Soap Box Derby, with three divisions from novice to master in order to allow the youth to develop basic skills of workmanship, learn about the spirit of competition, and the ability to complete a project once it has begun. The 2014 FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby is scheduled for 26 July.
Remembering Ogden Nash
Launched in 1977, the scientific travels through space of both Voyager 1 and 2 have continuously trasnmitted to earth an extraordinary number of important discoveries, and phenomenal images, of our outer solar system, and provided the first images of our solar system which included Earth, the “Pale Blue Dot” in 1996. Voyager 1 is now the most distant human-made object, about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) away from the sun. It's signal takes approximately 17 hours to travel to Earth.
which only occurs every 176 years. Taking advantage of this planetary alignment, two scientific probes were launched in 1977 to collect the sights and sounds of the outer solar system, and transmit data back to Earth. Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 (launched on this day in 1977) transmitted remarkable discoveries and astounding images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, before continuing their interstellar journey into deep space, which should continue until after the year 2025.
animals, greetings spoken in 55 languages, and printed messages from President Jimmy Carter and U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim.
painting (approximately 21" x 30") on a wooden panel is owned by the French government and is on display in the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
officials, the missing Mona Lisa fascinated the citizens of Paris. Thousands attended the re-opening of the Louvre after its week of being closed just to see the empty space on the wall where the painting had been.
painting would have to be examined for authenticity before any transaction would be completed, and he agreed to wait in his room until this could be done.
The International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR) began National Homeless Animals' Day in 1992 in order to increase public awareness of the millions of dogs and cats killed in shelters annually for lack of homes, and to emphasize the importance of spaying and neutering companion animals. National Homeless Animals' Day and Candlelight Vigils, commemorated on the third Saturday of August each year (always between the 15th and the 21st), have grown enormously in both number and content. Animal Rights/Welfare organizations, as well as individuals from around the world have taken part in the event to increase public awareness of this issue.
Commemorated on this day since 1993, Be an Angel Day is a warm invitation for everyone to "do one small act of service for someone; be a blessing in someone's life," as stated in the holiday's slogan. It not only represents doing kindness for others, such as helping someone the street, being kind to a child, seeing where a little help is needed and just do it for the good of it. It is also a day to show gratitude for your personal "angel" who is always looking out for your best interest, and thank them for being just that. Celebrate Be an Angel Day by being a positive force in someone else's life, if only for a moment.
were uneasy with this decision, and although North Carolina rescinded its offer and reclaimed the territory, it was on this day in 1784 the citizens of the four county area decided to form an independent state they originally named Frankland (meaning land of free men), later Franklin (in honor of Benjamin Franklin).
Remembering Gene Kelly
commonly served in thick cut slices. It was on this day in 1853, an unsatisfied customer returned the potatoes to the kitchen two separate times as being too thick and soggy. Redoing the order for the third time, frustrated Crum sliced the potatoes paper-thin before frying them, then overly salting the crispy finished product (presumably making them inedible), before sending them back to the customer. It was apparently exactly what the customer wanted, whose enthusiastic appreciation prompted a second order of the same. Word got around the community so much, the new house specialty at Moon's Lake House became known as Saratoga Chips. In 1860, Crum was able to open his own restaurant. Although his main menu highlighted fish and game, Saratoga Chips were in baskets placed on all the tables, and he offered them in takeout boxes for special orders, but never patented or protected his invention. By the turn of the 20th Century, potatos chips went beyond restaurant fare and into mass production for home consumption. Originally stored in barrels or tins, it was a lady named Laura Scudder who one day ironed together two pieces of wax paper to invent the potato chip bag.
The national park concept is generally credited to the artist George Catlin, while on a trip to the Dakotas in 1832, wrote, "by some great protecting policy of government... in a magnificent park.... A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!" Catlin's vision was partly realized in 1864, when Congress donated Yosemite Valley to California for preservation as a state park. Eight years later, in 1872, Congress reserved the spectacular Yellowstone country in the Wyoming and Montana territories "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." With no state government there yet to receive and manage it, Yellowstone remained in the custody of the U.S. Department of the Interior as a national park-the world's 
first area so designated. Congress followed the Yellowstone precedent with other national parks in the 1890s and early 1900s, but there was no real system of national parks until a federal bureau, the National Park Service, was created on on this day in 1916 to manage those areas then assigned to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Dogs put their lives on the line every day - for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for a child who is disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage. Also known as International Dog Day and National Dog Appreciation Day, this day not only recognizes family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe, and bring comfort, but also to serve in bringing attention to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year from local shelters. Celebrating dogs for their capacity to love and their ability to impact our lives everyday in the most miraculous ways, this day begun in 2004 continues to be observed each year on 26 August.
In 1950, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, considered one of the greatest missionaries of the 20th century, received Vatican permission to start her own order, later known as the Missionaries of Charity, whose mission was to care for (in her own words) "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." Expanding globally from 1965, there are today more than 517 missions in 100 countries aiding the sick, the homeless, the starving peoples of the world. Following Teresa's death in 1997, the Holy See began the process of beatification, decreed in 2003 by John Paul II by saying "The Lord made this simple woman who came from one of Europe's poorest regions a chosen instrument to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world, not by preaching but by daily acts of love towards the poorest of the poor." Born on this day in 1910 as Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu.
Moving as a young boy to stay with relatives in England, he came to be known as Samuel Goldfish. He later emigrated to North America, where he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1902. A hard worker with natural marketing skills, he was captivated by the newly-rising film industry, so much so that in 1913, he teamed with his brother-in-law, Jesse Lasky (a well-known vaudevillian), and an unknown director named Cecil B. DeMille, to produce the first feature-length film made in Hollywood, The Squaw Man. Rising professional and personal disputes caused this partnership (which would become Paramount Pictures) to be dissolved. In 1918, after combining surnames with new partners, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn, for a movie-making enterprise named Goldwyn Pictures, he legally changed his own name to Samuel Goldwyn. By the time this company merged with Louis Mayer and Metro Pictures to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1925, Samuel had already moved on to form his own independent production company, the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. For the next 35 years, he built a solid reputation for film production, with an eye for finding talent, to become an award-winning filmmaker and humanitarian. Although his temperament was often considered ruthless, and sometimes crude, he is ultimately remembered as a film genius. The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, created by his will, is a non-profit organization providing an annual screenwriting competition for the University of California system (Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards), and ongoing funding for the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital. The foundation also provided construction funds for the Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library and created the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation Children's Center, a day care center serving the entertainment industry.
world were represented, as well as the major faith traditions of Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. Their goal was to identify ways that the worldwide religious and spiritual communities can work together as interfaith allies with the United Nations on specific peace, poverty, and environmental initiatives. UN Secretary General Annan stated, "There is a basic affinity between the teachings of the great religions of the worldÂ…the problem is never the faith -- it is the faithful and how we behave towards each other."
of one last tribal member, a man society named Ishi. The tribe inhabited the area for thousands of years, but their numbers began to seriously decline following the invasion of miners, trappers, immigrant families, and ranchers lured to the land by the discovery of gold in 1848. By 1865, only 30 Yana were left alive, who fled to the safety of nearby mountains, and continued to exist in hiding for over 40 years. On this date in 1911, the last surviving member of the Yana people was found near-death from lack of food and water in Oroville, California.
Remembering Ingrid Bergman
20-year old mill worker with little direction for his life, but that he enjoyed collecting records. In 1960, Peel was sent to work for a cotton producer in Dallas, later posing as a British reporter following the Kennedy assassination in order to attend the arraignment of Lee Harvey Oswald (he is visible in press conference footage shortly before Oswald's assassination). He got his first radio job in Dallas, later becoming the official Beatles correspondent due to his connection to Liverpool. Peel remained in the United States until 1967, picking up radio jobs in Oklahoma City as well as San Bernardino before heading back to England. He began work doing a midnight-to-two shift with an offshore station, ignoring play lists, commercial breaks, and hourly news, and ushering in the flower power of the late-Sixties using a sincere and heartfelt presentation that developed listener fans. The closing of the offshore station led him into employment with BBC Radio 1, where he remained as the longest-serving of the original DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. One of the first to play reggae and punk on British radio, his significant influence on alternative rock, Pop, British hip hop, and dance music is widely acknowledged. An international day of celebration in his honor is now recognized annually on the second Thursday in October, commemorating his last show broadcast on BBC in October of 2004. The first "John Peel Day" in 2005 began the tradition inviting bands, many new and unsigned, to celebrate 40 years of music. Andy Parfitt, the head of BBC Radio 1 said, "John Peel Day is about celebrating John's legacy and his unrivalled passion for music."
and was operating with the US aircraft carriers supporting the landings during the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Serving as a task force flagship during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 12-13 November, a Japanese plane crashed into the radar and fire control station of the USS San Francisco, resulting in severe damage and over 50 casualties. On 13 November, Leonard Roy Harmon was helping evacuate the wounded to safety when he was killed by enemy gunfire as he shielded an injured shipmate from further harm.
Remembering Arthur Godfrey